BOISE, Idaho — Ada County Commissioners stated they won't appeal a judge's ruling that they violated Idaho's Public Records Act, after largely rejecting records requests from four Boise-area journalists.
The Commissioners voted 2-1 Monday not to appeal the ruling from Fourth District Judge Deborah Bail.
The Idaho Press Club and the journalists filed the lawsuit earlier this year, contending the county wrongly denied access to some public documents and over-redacted others.
“The Board of Ada County Commissioners remains committed to accessible, open and transparent government. We embrace opportunities to improve our processes,” said County spokesperson Elizabeth Duncan in a news release.
“We have already taken steps that are improving the way Ada County handles public records requests,” said Ada County Commission Chair Kendra Kenyon. “We have hired a Director of Communications, provided even more clarity on our website, and we directed our staff, and encouraged the attorneys, to be more open and timelier in responding to public records requests.”
Commissioner Diana Lachiondo added, “We believe media play a critically important role in both informing the public and ensuring that government entities manage the business of government in an open and honest manner. We will continue to provide all media with public records to which they are given access under Idaho law.”
Training for public records custodians is currently being implemented county wide, Duncan said.
(Associated Press contributed to this story)
